The Master of Uradan

The sun shined high in the sky, overlooking the mortal world with its might. Below him, fleeing this heavenly being and traveling toward the west, the Blackwolf clan was high in spirit, ready to reach their target.

The clan's members were encouraged before this view, as they thought about the next two months. It would be the time they will rest in the same area, and it will be a relief after traveling for weeks.

Rohan, as always, was on his horse, following this group of hundred carts pulled by the kargas. Their wheels crushed the rocks on the ground. The carts shook left and right.

After a few hours in the same direction, Rohan could finally see changes in this monotonous environment. Among the gray and red rocks, some patches of green grass, trying to defend their small territories against the incessant attack of the heat.

More and more of these Green Miracles appeared as the beasts walked toward the west, and even Rohan felt happy in his heart. For the first time in his life, he started to develop hatred toward the sun. He was in a hurry to stop somewhere for a time.

Hazy forms appeared in the distance. Even though Rohan was a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, it didn't mean that his senses were much more developed than a normal human. Only the fifth meridian, going toward his brain, was somehow enhancing them a bit. But even so, that wasn't enough for him to see what it was.

It was impossible for him, but not for the veterans who had lived on these lands for decades. The sight of these long forms dancing under the heat of the sun was making them even more in a hurry to go forward.

They walked more and more until Rohan was near enough to discern what it was. Never in his life would he have expected to be joyful because of a landscape, but here he was, with a smile on his face. Trees. In a large quantity. He could even call it a forest at this point. What perturbed Rohan, was that the demarcation between the desert area and the wooden one was an abrupt one.

It was simply a large forest, posed in the middle of the desert.

The trees were tall ones, reaching the sky as their green foliage danced under a light warm wind. Before long, the Blackwolf Clan reached the forest.

Under the hooks of the kargas, it wasn't the irritable noise of the rocks being smashed anymore. All Rohan heard was the soft crunches of the grass being stepped on. The green carpet, along with some yellowed parts here and there, was stretching in all directions.

Growing on this grass, countless trees distanced themselves from each other, creating enough place for the clan to go forward without issue. But the Blackwolf clan wasn't going to enter through this forest blindly, and a group of the strongest members descended from their carts.

The warriors of the clan stood in front of the Clan Chief. There were among them two rank 2 Beginner Warriors, and five rank 1 Beginner Warrior, waiting for the instruction of the rank 3 Beginner Warrior looking at them.

Rohan was too far away to hear what was said, but as he saw the group bulge their chest before they all ran in a different direction inside the forest, he immediately understood what they were doing.

He wasn't an expert at all, but he wasn't stupid. If they wanted to live in the same place, even for a short time, they would need to fill back their stock of food and water. It should be the priority to find inside this large forest.

The whole clan was waiting for the return of the warriors, and before long, they were already back. A rank 1 or 2 Beginner Warrior was two or three times stronger than a normal human, and although that didn't mean they were necessarily two or three times faster than them, it was still much more efficient to send them.

After all of them were back, a direction was chosen, and the clan took back the road. They entered the wooden area.

It was another world. Rohan, who was getting used to the same rocks every day, cooled down under this variation. A small wind was stroking his face, it was warm, but also refreshing.

The smell of dry leaves entered his nose, and Rohan couldn't help but inhale the whole forest. The cries of birds flying above him filled his ears. He saw some of these black ones jump from a tree to another one, and dance in the air.

Rohan thought back at what was his surrounding only a few hours earlier. He had difficulties understanding how in only a few steps the environment had changed that radically. It was as if he had suddenly learned the teleportation spell and had accidentally used it. In any case, this change was a welcomed one.

The clan continued to advance through the trees, and apart from a few birds flying in the vicinity, they didn't meet any beast in their way. Rohan squinted his eyes toward the direction they were taking.

At each step, a strange noise was becoming clearer and fiercer. It was the same noise as a herd running in their direction. His heart began to pound on his chest, and his hand headed slowly on his weapon.

He was maybe a rank 5 Beginner Warrior, but that wasn't enough against a sheer difference of number. But the more he approached from the thundering noise, the more he felt like an idiot.

He should have been able to recognize it in a second. After all, it wasn't the first he was hearing or seeing one. He had even seen one a little too close, not so long ago.

The noise was starting to encompass the whole region, and as the trees around them were becoming more and more sparse, a beautiful sight welcomed their arrival.

A small mossy cliff was standing there, fighting against the erosion of time. From the top, clear water was cascading, bypassing every pointed rock protruding here and there.

The shape of this moist cliff was like a semicircle, surrounding a small lake. This one was the final rest of the river, hidden by the body of the hill.

The Blackwolf clan find themselves in front of the still lake, only troubled by the transparent trickle of water descending the cliff.

Trees were all around the place, and ivy was climbing up, eating up the whole majestuous rock.

Rohan was standing there. He forgot about his horse. He overlooked the other members of the clan. He missed the hundred carts. He found himself all alone. Crushed by the extraordinary sight in front of his eyes.

A distance away from there, there was an enormous desert. It was made of rocks, pebbles, and sand. Nothing more.

The sun was burning everything the day, and the moon was freezing everything the night. Such was the toughness of this region.

And now, here he was. In the middle of a forest.. Never would Rohan have thought that he could discover such a heavenly place in the middle of the Barren Lands.